Hayley Jarvis has begun her new job as consultant at boutique wealth manager EQ Investors, which is led by John Spiers, the former director of Financial Planning at Tilney Bestinvest.
Ms Jarvis was at Financial Planning business Higgs Boson for nearly two and a half years before taking the position and previously worked in consultant roles at Zurich and Aegon.
She will deliver pensions, group risk benefits and auto-enrolment advice to corporate clients and their employees for small and medium-sized businesses across the UK in her new job.
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In the next three years, around 1.8 million small and micro employers will have to comply with the legislation.
She said: “I am looking forward to working alongside an experienced and highly qualified team headed up by John Spier and also working for a company that will support my continued growth and development.”
Ms Jarvis began her career in financial services on a YTS programme with a local IFA firm 19 years ago.
Asked what she sees as the biggest stumbling blocks for SMEs in dealing with auto enrolment, she said: “To ensure clients have a clear plan of action and to support them as much as they want or need to get their AE compliant schemes in place. EQ has supported SMEs over many years, as well as being in this category ourselves, which enables us to view their world from their perspective and understand the challenges AE presents.
“Employers and SMEs have a number of responsibilities to make sure they comply and now is the time for advisers to help with this process.”
Her top three priorities for her new role are helping existing clients through the AE journey, taking the message out to the SME market and attracting new clients.
Mark Kenner, executive director and head of the employee benefits division at EQ, said: “With auto-enrolment now underway for SMEs, Hayley’s breadth of experience and in-depth knowledge of the auto-enrolment process underlines our commitment to delivering a high-quality service to existing and new clients.
“The new regulations are quite detailed and complex. Companies who have tried to implement auto-enrolment without professional support have found navigating the rules a real challenge.”
Mr Spiers recruited a quintet of Tilney staff, including Katharine Lindley, previously director of Financial Planning at Bestinvest, in March.
The IFP's 2014 Paraplanner of the Year Award winner Dan Atkinson, is a member of EQ's technical consultants team.